.............I think you're my new hero Cyndi..............LOL............good thing I'm only a fiberstalker............. I'd LOVE to have a home with lots of "old things" that are used everyday.............. I have a son who's in the Navy that was on leave for a couple of days this week............he walked in and took one look at my Kiwi and said:

"Mom............one of these days I'm gonna come home and you'll hand me a bucket to go out to the hand pump well for cookin' water!"

Funny...... ......cuz' I had been thinking of having the DH build a well around the pump house..................

That's what DH did for our 1st anniversary of the homestead present. A hand pump well.

Course, we hit water after 23', so it's technically a sand point. I love being able to not have to worry if the electricity goes out for an extended period. We have water from the hand pump and would change out the parlor heating wood stove for the wood cookstove and carry on.

........That's way cool..............I hadn't thought about it.............but I'm sure a lot of folks who lost power for weeks during this years winter storms wished they'd had your set-up.............

I live in southeast Georgia............no winter storms............but the hurricanes are always a threat during hurricane season................